Ora James Bouey, a UUP member from Stony Brook HSC, has been to at least a dozen AFT Higher Education Issues conferences. UUP member Jacqualine Berger, of Empire State College, was at her first. But this year’s conference in Portland, Ore., from March 29 to April 1, offered both women a rejuvenating opportunity to share ideas with like-minded colleagues in higher education from around the country.
Bouey, who serves on the AFT Affirmative Action Committee, moderated a workshop on college access for first-generation, low-income students. It was one of many workshops and panel discussions she has moderated for AFT Higher Education over the years, but she still finds the experience engaging.
This year’s topic “did provoke a lot of discussion,” recalled Bouey.
The impassioned and heartfelt exchanges in the Access workshop characterized a shift Bouey has noted at the AFT conference. Ten years ago, the workshops focused on organizing and collective bargaining. Now, with AFT membership and the conference growing, the topics appeal to a wider range of campuses — such as community colleges — and an increasingly diverse population of academic and professional faculty.
“I don’t think there’s been a time when I’ve attended this conference that I didn’t gain from it,” Bouey said.
Berger, who co-chairs the Part-Time Concerns Committee with Wes Kennison of SUNY Geneseo who is also a part-timer, discovered there were so many workshops geared toward part timers, she couldn’t choose just one or two. So, she went to all four — listening, participating and learning. And she loved every minute of them.
“I really think this conference is wonderful,” Berger said as she prepared for her final workshop.
“It’s a great opportunity to talk to leaders from around the country and see what’s going on.”
As Berger swapped information with her colleagues from other parts of the country, she realized that many other AFT locals have yet to achieve the gains made by UUP for its part-timers.
“The support we get from the union as a whole strengthens our case,” Berger said. “We have some benefits no other unions have yet. None of them has health insurance for their members who work part-time.”
— Darryl McGrath